Vapor heating cabinet



March 4, 3958 v. F. SVOBODA VAPOR HEATING CABINET Filed June 29, 1956 IN VEN TOR.

l//C TOE F.' 51/019004,

Wmmmv A TToeA/e Y5 r VAPOR HEATING CABINET Victor Frsvoboda, Eugene, Oreg.

Application June 29, 1956, Serial No. 594,828

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-368) This invention relates to a heating cabinet, adapted to provide either dry or moist heat with a view to providing heat therapy for all the upper extremities, as well as the foot, knee, and various muscles of the body.

It is known that various portions of the body should be evenly heated and relaxed before a physician, therapist or masseur can successfully massage and exercise the same. Heretofore, the application of heat therapy to individual portions of the body has been relatively difiicult, and has involved relatively complicated devices which, despite their high cost, have still been incapable of operation with full satisfaction.

The main object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide a device for external or internal application of heat treatments, usable to advantage in the treatment of colds, and related ailments, as well as rheumatism, neuritis, bursitis, and various other ailments tending to lodge in the arms, shoulders, or other parts of the body.

A further object is to provide a device of the character stated which will be particularly designed to facilitate extension into the cabinet of any portion of the body to which heat therapy is to be applied.

Yet another object. is to so design the device that one may readily regulate the heat provided therein, with the construction being especially adaptedv to facilitate the provision either of moist or dry'heat, according tothe needs of the particular situation.

Still another object is to permit ready adjustment of a supporting ledge within thecabinet, toward or away from the. heat, to positions in which said ledge will provide an ,etfective support for the particular member of the body that is being heated;

Summarized briefly; the invention includes an upstanding, cabinethaving a tapered upperend. In the bottom of the cabinet a heat means'is mounted, on which a container for water (which may, contain herbs or various minerals if desired) is capable of being positioned should moist heat be desired; "Above the heating means a grate-like ledge is mounted in horizontal position, and is adjustable vertically within the container. A sling, adapted to receive a member of the body extending into the container, is

provided at the upper end of the container, and also pro vided at this location is a hand hold for supporting ones arm within the container. The tapered upper end of the container has a flexibly hooded opening, the hood being adapted to'be tied about the portion of the body extending through said opening to minimize loss of heat,

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a heating cabinet according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section therethrough on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a transverse section on line 44 of Figure 2.

The heating cabinet 10 constituting the invention in-.

cludes an upstanding frame comprising rectangularlyv spaced, vertical, corner posts 12 of angle iron material integral, at a location spaced closely from their lower extremities, with a horizontal, rectangular bottom frame comprising cross braces 14 connected between the several corner posts at the sides, front, and back of the container.

Supported at its periphery upon and fixedly connected to the braces 14 is a flat, rectangular, sheet metal bottom plate 16. Also connected at their peripheries to the corner posts and to the braces are flat, vertical front and back walls 18, 20 respectively, and side walls 22, 23, the side wall 22 having at its lower end a large, rectangular opening 24. Bounding the sides and bottom of opening 24 is a U-shaped guide 26 for a vertically slidable door 28 normally gravitating to its closed position and equipped adjacent its upper end with an outwardly projecting handle 30.

Internally bracing the container are vertical corner braces 32, and connected between the upper ends of the front corner braces 32 is an upper, horizontally extending cross brace 34 (see Figure 2). This would be covered with padding in a commercial form.

At its upper end, back wail 29 has an integral, inclined extension 36, extending into convergence with an oppositely inclined upper end extension 38 of front wall 18. Inclined side braces 46 are secured to theextensions 36, 38 Within the cabinet and secured fixedly to the inclined. braces (see Figure l) are the edges of triangular extensions of the respective side walls. The container thus is of tapering formation at its upper end, and formed in the extension 33, at the front of the tapered extension of the cabinet, is a large rectangular opening 44, over which. extends'a hood 46 of flexible material anchored at its. sides and top to extension 36 by a hold-down bar 48 of inverted U-shape. Hood 46 at its opposite sides has accordion-folded side walls 50, permitting expansion of the hood in a vertical direction for the purpose of facilitating;

extension of a member of the body through the opening into the cabinet. Depending from the front ends of the collapsible side walls 50 are flexible flaps 52, and above the flaps ties 54 depend from the front edge of the hood, adjacent ties 56 depending from the free ends of the flaps. The opening at the front of the hood would be reduced in Width to facilitate its snug connection about the in.- serted portion of. the body.

In one of the triangular extensions 42 there may be mounted a thermometer 58 to provide a continuing indi cation of the temperature within the cabinet.

At the back of the cabinet, where the back wall 20 merges into the extension 36, one or more handles 60 are pivotally connected to the wall of thecabinet. Extending across the opening 44 isa flexible sling 62 thepurposeof which will be presently made apparent.

Centrally mounted upon bottom wall 16 is an electrical heating device 64, having a rheostatic control knob 64 accessible to a user by elevation of the sliding side door 28. The heating device 64 on its top surface has a resistance element 66, and supportable upon said resistance element, if moist heat is desired, is a basin 68 containing Water W. Should dry heat be desired, the basin would be removed. In its place one might in this event position a cover, not shown, of inverted frustro-conical shape, having a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings to permit the passage of heat therethrough. Said cover would provide protection in the event one were to acci dentally move the inserted member of the body toward the heating device 64,

Secured fixedly to the several vertical braces 32 so as to be located at the corners of the cabinet are wall support brackets 70 of rectangular, plate-like formation. A rectangular support ledge is adapted to be positioned .upon any selected. brackets Within the cabinet. 7

' scope of the appended claims.

. n a a i a 70,

This includes a pair of side support bars 72 the cabinet.

' between which closely spaced cross bars 74 are connected.

111 1. 'fi fiid i e ne a hesita urQng z-s p n 9 e aB n tt l ht .sxam e a i leg through the-hooled opening The hood would be p d directly p thev d eil tbei stocdr bat V 'foldedtowels' or the li ke may be positioned under the foot to hold thesame'out of direct contact withYheledge. One leg at atime would be'inserted j t t on h lotber ha dne'we e in rt n thea ir he arm would be extended throughthehooded opening, with V t the hood being tied thereabout; The handle 70 can ;be

grasped, with the elbowsnpported upon the ledge. Again;

t a folded towel or the like may be positionedbetween the elbow iandlhe ledge, to provide maxirnnm comfort. It

at various levels'wlthin tied about the inserted limb, and the foot; can be sup i of the hood atthe openrfront thereof, the side wallsineluding flaps projecting beyond the openingatopposite 7 sides of the open-frontof'thethood, said'flaps including ties fortconnectingtheflaps about; the inserted member,

the hood' including 'additional ties adjacent thefl'aps, co-

perating with the'first named ties iirconnecting the hood I the head is inserted it can be supported uponihe'sling 152 The cabinet might be variedlsoi-far jasghe aainarstructural details thereof are concerned, within thescope of the appended claims. Ina'cornmercialform, it would have a rectangular cross, section, with .,a front-to-back dimension slightly greater than itslsideto-side,dimension;

In every instance, however, the basic structural and functional characteristics illustrated "and, described herein would be retained. With' the, cabinet s01 designed, it

ties, as wellasthe foot and knee, and performs this function with maximum. efiiciency, as well as with full comfort 'so far as the users are concerned; Isolatedtherapy isjthus provided, in the sense that a particular member can be heat-treated without requiring the heating ofother, adjacent portions of the 1 body that may not require therapy. In this way, the heated portions of the body are fully relaxed, thus properly preparing the same for manipulation or other beneficial actions practiced by a physician, therapist, or masseur.

It is to be understood that the material, of the cabinet can be varied, but in a commercial embodiment it would be preferred, undoubtedly, 'to provide insulated walls, which walls might, for example, be of'a heat-resisting or refractory'tile. 1 j

' It is believed apparent that the invention is not neces- 'sarily confined'to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for anypu'rposeto which it maybe suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limitedto the specific construction illustrated and 77 described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation andithe means presently'devised to' carry: out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permittedwithin the What'is claimed is: V

1. A heating cabinet for providing heat therapy forseserves to. provide heatztherapy for all the'upperextremit.

W V a e lected members of the body, comprising an'upstanding f container having a rectangular opening; heating means in the lower end of the container; and a flexible hood cover a ing said opening andincluding means connectableabout a member inserted in the opening, said hood. beingisecuredto the side and back edges of said opening only,

so as to be open along the front edge of the opening, the,

hood including collapsible side walls permitting expansion about theinserted member;

2. A heating cabinet for providing heat therapy for se 1 lected members of' the body, comprising an upstanding.

container elongated inja vertical direction and. 'formed'to a rectangular cross section for the major part ;of its length, said container .at its flipper end 'h'avingtupwardlyiconw vergent, flat top Wall portionslinclined at a substantial'da.

'gree from the vertical to tpr ovidea peaked topywa'lL on t the container, one of said wall portions over the greatest part of its area having javrectangular; opening, isaidlopening having a front edgeterminating at the lower endiof' said one portion and having a back) edgeeXtending-adja-"t cent the line of convergence of the ,respectiveatop wall 7 portions; a collapsible hood overlyingrisaid. openinga'nd.

having a back edge secured to' theback edgeIof theopening and side edgessecuriedito the'side' edges ofttheiopene 7 ing, ,saidlhoodrbeingtfreeof connection .to .the front'edgei of the, Opening; the hood. having collapsible-sidewalls; i for collapsing'of 'the.hood substantiallyinto the plane of i said onewallportion, saidhood being'swingableto' a raised position along 'an-:axis;.extending: along the back edge of the opening, thustoprovide 'accessi'to'theinterior of the cabinet throughithe opening abovethetrontedge a t of the'opening, said hood including at {its opposite sides flaps formed as extensions of the side walls of thehood V and terminating in ties,'the hood including additional ties V dependingtfrom the front edge thereof adjacent the'flaps' 0 close the hood:

for connection to the ties of the flaps, about an inserted limb of a user. i 

